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Smoking costs society $40 bucks a pack.

I read something about companies starting to charge more for health insurance if you smoke. I'm all for that, even if they don't lower my rate down personally.
 
I think there were a few landmark cases up here in Canada where the gov't made the cig companies pay some significant $$$ for added healthcare costs. I'm all for it...

If McDanks has to pay for coffee being too hot, the cig companies should pay for their damages.
Besides they should be happy they arent banned at this point.
 
the real problem is that tobacco fields take up valuable space needed to grow cotton, so that we can print more debt. so tobacco threatens the very security of our US government against foreigners
 
Originally posted by: her209
What about Tomacco?

that would actually be a good thing. nothing like breaking the stranglehold of oral stimulants that coffee currently commands.
 
There is nothing good about smoking, once you get hooked you are not getting any highs from it, it runs your health and makes your breath stink, it costs society a lot and is a problem for EVERY smoker wheteher they want to admit it or not.

It is a stupid disgusting habit with no benefits. tax it x10 and stupid smokers are still stupid enough to pay for it, but at least they carry their burdon on the medical issues all by themselves then.
 
Klixx, according to the quote, smoking only costs thost outside of the families of smokers $1.44 per pack. So, (assuming that smoking has an inelastic demand curve, which, I assure you as a relapsed smoker, it does) you would need to raise the taxes on each pack by $1.44 and society at large ends up even. In Ontario, we just had our taxes raised byabout $2.50 CND per pack. Sounds fair to me.


the real problem is that tobacco fields take up valuable space needed to grow cotton, so that we can print more debt. so tobacco threatens the very security of our US government against foreigners

Naww, they don't actually print debt anymore. You should plant those fields with marijuana, so that the 20 something tech geeks will keep cranking out the TCP packets. Plant twinkies, too.
 
Originally posted by: Klixxer tax it x10 and stupid smokers are still stupid enough to pay for it, but at least they carry their burdon on the medical issues all by themselves then.

Cigarettes are 6,00...7,75? in my region.. but I don't think anyone is quitting.
 
Because we all know that non-smokers never get sick, never incur any healthcare costs, and never die, right? :roll:

The "tax it more" argument doesn't work. Most state governments already make more per pack than do the tobacco companies. At least one state government (WA) has already been caught trying to increase tobacco consumption in order to increase their tax revenues.

The only solution that has any hope of success is to continue with making smoking a socially unacceptable habit, and eventually (after a generation or so) less people will do it. Everything else will fail.
 
I don't care if I'm only paying .01 per pack, thats still too much for such a worthless habit. Why should we be expected to pay anything for someone elses's vice????
 
Originally posted by: earthman
I don't care if I'm only paying .01 per pack, thats still too much for such a worthless habit. Why should we be expected to pay anything for someone elses's vice????
Because others pay for your vices. Or are you telling me that you never drive a car, never drink alcohol, and never eat fatty foods?

Kindly pull your head out of your ass.
 
Originally posted by: earthman
Smoking costs society $40 bucks a pack.

And don't say its just more propaganda. People bitch about health care costs, then put up with this because it's a "right". Why should everybody else have to pay for your dried up weeds?
The title is stupid and so are your comments.

Despite the finding that smoking is a costly habit for individuals, society carries less of a burden than generally believed, the study's authors determined.

"The reason the number is low is that for private pensions, Social Security, and Medicare ? the biggest factors in calculating costs to society ? smoking actually saves money," Sloan said. "Smokers die at a younger age and don't draw on the funds they've paid into those systems."
Learn to read and comprehend.

Edit: BTW, I'd bet that most of this "study" is bogus and made up of hocus pocus statistics.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
Because we all know that non-smokers never get sick, never incur any healthcare costs, and never die, right? :roll:

The "tax it more" argument doesn't work. Most state governments already make more per pack than do the tobacco companies. At least one state government (WA) has already been caught trying to increase tobacco consumption in order to increase their tax revenues.

The only solution that has any hope of success is to continue with making smoking a socially unacceptable habit, and eventually (after a generation or so) less people will do it. Everything else will fail.

"tax it more" arguement does work.

Means the people who smoke are payin more tax to compensate for the incresed medical costs associated with the product. At the same time it does encourage quitting. Like it or not economics say, the higher the price the lower the demand.

Use highways/gas for an analogy.

If it costs more to build and maintain highways (healthcare), raising the tax on gas (raise cig tax) will help offset the increased costs, maybe even encourage people to use less gas - transit (use less cigs).

Tax more will always offset the costs. It is a good temporary solution untill smoking is socially unacceptable.

If your solution is make it illegal...you are going to see undergroud movements like pot...and if what ppl are saying is true and ppl will not quit as they are addicted, the health costs will be there too.

The gov't promoting idea is horrible and is not somehting that most governments do. I do look down on it and do not think that is the driver behind cig tax hikes.
 
Originally posted by: Kibbo
Klixx, according to the quote, smoking only costs thost outside of the families of smokers $1.44 per pack. So, (assuming that smoking has an inelastic demand curve, which, I assure you as a relapsed smoker, it does) you would need to raise the taxes on each pack by $1.44 and society at large ends up even. In Ontario, we just had our taxes raised byabout $2.50 CND per pack. Sounds fair to me.


the real problem is that tobacco fields take up valuable space needed to grow cotton, so that we can print more debt. so tobacco threatens the very security of our US government against foreigners

Naww, they don't actually print debt anymore. You should plant those fields with marijuana, so that the 20 something tech geeks will keep cranking out the TCP packets. Plant twinkies, too.


If they put a tax on cigs that paid people to clean up when smokers flick them on the ground, then I would say that was fair.

And when smokers pay extra tax to build hospitals so that people are not forced to wait for treatment because someone has smoked themselves into the hospital again.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: earthman
I don't care if I'm only paying .01 per pack, thats still too much for such a worthless habit. Why should we be expected to pay anything for someone elses's vice????
Because others pay for your vices. Or are you telling me that you never drive a car, never drink alcohol, and never eat fatty foods?

Kindly pull your head out of your ass.

since when is driving a car a worthless habit?
 
Originally posted by: gopunk
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: earthman
I don't care if I'm only paying .01 per pack, thats still too much for such a worthless habit. Why should we be expected to pay anything for someone elses's vice????
Because others pay for your vices. Or are you telling me that you never drive a car, never drink alcohol, and never eat fatty foods?

Kindly pull your head out of your ass.

since when is driving a car a worthless habit?

because it damages the environment and peoples health and can kill people.
 
Originally posted by: Colt45
Originally posted by: Klixxer tax it x10 and stupid smokers are still stupid enough to pay for it, but at least they carry their burdon on the medical issues all by themselves then.

Cigarettes are 6,00...7,75? in my region.. but I don't think anyone is quitting.

Taxing the hell out of it won't make anyone quit (or at most very few people). Addicts will pay whatever the price is to feed their addiction. It doesn't matter if it's $1 a pack or $20 a pack, they'll still pay it b/c they "need" to. Taxing the hell out of it will, however, prevent more people from starting in the first place...and probably just picking up weed instead. 😉
 
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